Advanced Academy Tour: Pivot Point's Meta:Men

These three looks were recreated by the students at the Meta:Men workshop.

In decades past, specialized male salons or barbershops were the only place for men to receive hairdressing services with masculine finishes, say the educators for Pivot Point International. Now, most salons cater to both women and men, requiring all hairdressers to be able to provide salon services to the male clientele.

And, there are major perks with this bunch: Male clients are known to be the most loyal, having a much higher frequency of visit, male clients are also more than likely to take your retail recommendations, and, once they’ve found their stylist, they are incredibly faithful.

Pivot Point’s Meta:Men, Classics Session I, is designed to expand or perfect stylists’ range of techniques geared toward the male client—with a goal of winning new clients and gaining the unending loyalty of current ones.

After introductions, Allison Barker and Jason Russell, field educators, begin the workshop by establishing the characteristics that make a classic male style. In general, men’s styling requires less volume—however, if volume needs to be created, it needs to be strategically placed to support a lean, square silhouette instead of softening. Classic male styles are overall square silhouettes, lean, often tapered, exteriors, tight shapes along the crest, angular shapes in the interior, exposed and defined hairlines and sideburns, and little to no volume.

Students learn that while the desired shape of a male hair style resembles a rectangle, the actual head shape of the client is rounded. The cut must compensate by incorporating longer and shorter shapes in the appropriate areas.

“Holding your shears in an ergonomically correct way will determine if you’re going to be in the industry for four years or 40 years,” educator Barker says.

Beginning with the “Chris” finish, students now begin cutting—following a video demonstration of the cut, the educator walks students through a hands-on step-by-step. As students progress to the last cut of the day, “Michael,” educators continue to provide insight into the male client and how to achieve the best results.

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About the Author:

Alison Alhamed

As Editor in Chief, Alison shapes the voice, content and design for MODERN SALON magazine, websites and social platforms—collaborating with artists and brands on photoshoot planning and layouts for the magazine, web exclusives, launches, global event coverage and breaking news. Alison oversees the content creation on all of MODERN SALON’s platforms, giving MODERN’s vibrant and engaged followers the platform to share their talent and work with the world of professional beauty. Her love for the professional beauty industry grew even deeper after she enrolled in beauty school, working as an editor by day and a student by night. As a beauty editor and licensed cosmetologist, Alison is passionate about the professional salon industry.